Former New Kent High School

New Kent High School is a historic school in New Kent, Virginia. The school, along with the nearby George W. Watkins Elementary School, is associated with the landmark Supreme Court case Green v. County School Board of New Kent County (1968), in which the court defined what the standards of Brown v. Board of Education were in the desegregation cases. This decision ended the era of Massive Resistance and ushered in the era of integration.

This article is about the historic segregated high schools in New Kent County. For the current high school, see New Kent High School.
New Kent High School; George W. Watkins High School
The old New Kent High School in October 2016
Location11825 New Kent Hwy,
New Kent, Virginia
Coordinates37.5157°N 76.9808°W / 37.5157; -76.9808
Area9 acres
Built1930
NRHP reference No.01001046
VLR No.063-0318
Significant dates
Added to NRHPAugust 7, 2001[1]
Designated NHLAugust 7, 2001[2]
Designated VLRJune 13, 2001[3]

History

Before desegregation, George Watkins was the county's African American-only high school, while New Kent School was the high school for whites. The name for the former was in honor of Dr. George W. Watkins, who served as the pastor of the Second Liberty Baptist Church from 1928 to 1971. During this time, he encouraged church members to take leadership roles in the community, such as on the local school board, planning commission, board of supervisors, and other civic and religious organizations. The most notable of those who followed this advice was Dr. Calvin C. Green, who led the push for desegregation in Green v. County School Board.[4]

In 1954, the Brown v. Board of Education overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine, but it was not specific on remedies that educational systems had to take to remove discrimination. The 1955 "Brown II" ruling on relief called only for desegregation at "all deliberate speed", which many interpreted to allow active resistance. Many school systems made changes which allowed them to avoid the most blatant appearance of discrimination, but which achieved only token amounts of integration. Notably, the 1955 Briggs appeals court decision was one that held that the constitution "'does not require integration. It merely forbids discrimination.'", and this was used to avoid taking active steps towards integration.[5]

In reaction to the Brown v. Board decision, the New Kent County School System implemented a choice system in 1967, through which students were given a choice to either attend New Kent High School or George Watkins High School. The plan resulted in some African Americans attending New Kent but no whites attending Watkins. In Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, the Supreme Court ruled that the choice plan was unconstitutional. Watkins was soon converted into a middle school and an integrated New Kent High School became the county school for grades 9-12.

The pair of schools was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2001.[2][5]

The campus is now used as the New Kent campus of Rappahannock Community College.[6] The New Kent County school district has since built a new high school south of the former school. The George W. Watkins High School has undergone significant renovations to function as George W. Watkins Elementary School.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "New Kent School and George W. Watkins School". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
  3. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  4. Second Liberty Baptist Church
  5. Susan Cianci Salvatore and John H. Sprinkle, Jr. (March 7, 2001) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: New Kent School, George W. Watkins School / New Kent Middle School, George W. Watkins Elementary School, National Park Service and Accompanying six photos, three exterior of each, undated
  6. "New Kent Site". Rappahannock Community College. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
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